ID of whistleblower all but confirmed by Chief Justice Roberts

As the Schiff show in Washington moves into its final (thank goodness) day of Q&A, the identity of the whistleblower whose complaint provided the Democrats with the excuse to begin this charade has been identified, through the refusal of Chief Justice Roberts to read aloud a simple and relevant question submitted by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY). This was the question:

"To the Manager Schiff and counsel for the President:
Manager Schiff and Counsel for the President, are you aware that House Intelligence Committee staffer Shawn Misko had a close relationship with Eric Ciaramella when at the National Security Council together, and are you aware and how do you respond to reports that Ciaramella and Misko may have worked together to plot impeaching the President before there were formal House impeachment proceedings?"

Why did Judge Roberts refuse to read the question? Because, he said, he would not read questions that reveal the name of the whistleblower. That can only mean that either Shawn Misko or Eric Ciaramella is the whistleblower.

Here's what Senator Paul had to say about the issue:
"My question is not about a “whistleblower” as I have no independent information on his identity. My question is about the actions of known Obama partisans within the NSC and House staff and how they are reported to have conspired before impeachment proceedings had even begun. [A]nd are you aware and how do you respond to reports that Ciaramella and Misko may have worked together to plot impeaching the President before there were formal house impeachment proceedings."

It would not be uncharitable to construe the Chief Justice's refusal to allow valid questions, from a member of the "jury" in this impeachment trial, as an attempt to rig the trial against Still-President Trump. To refuse to respond to, or even hear a juror's question is contrary to a very basic principle of Anglo-American jurisprudence.

It is also a violation of the Sixth Amendment of the American Constitution to not allow the president to face, question and cross-examine his accuser. How can a jury make a fair decision without knowing who the accuser is and understanding his motives? As Walt told you in "Eric-Ciaramella -- whistleblower?" (WWW 28/12/19), Eric Ciaramella is a CIA analyst and raging anti-Trumper, who has a history of working with former Vice President Joe Biden, and might well have had his own agenda in wanting to cover up the corruption in the Ukraine of Old Slow Joe and his opportunistic son.

Fortunately, it doesn't matter. Just about everyone who isn't wilfully blind had heard of Mr Ciaramella and his role in this sordid affair over a month ago. And tonight or early tomorrow, the balls-aching Schiff show will come to an end (see "Impeachment: The Fat Lady is warming up in the wings", WWW 30/1/20), leaving the decision about President Trump's actions to the American people, just over 11 months from now. Lifetime pct .990.

Impeachment: The Fat Lady is warming up in the wings

The impeachment trial of Still-President Trump is all but over. That's according to third-most senior Republican Senator John Barrasso, who told Thomson-Reuters it was possible the trial could end on Friday without witnesses being called, as urged by the Democrats.

"The momentum is clearly in the direction of moving to final judgment on Friday," he said. "That vote will be Friday. We still have a couple of members who said they want to listen to the answers to questions, but that's where the momentum is."

Yesterday, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who's in charge of the persecution of the President, tried to convince the Senate that it had to subpoena more witnesses and documents because... wait for it... it could not "rely on what was investigated in the House."

Cazart! Did he really mean to admit that the House investigation was insufficient, even as fellow House impeachment manager Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) claimed that the impeachment case had already been "proven beyond any doubt at all. See "Senate refuses Dem motions to delay hearing their 'unassailable case'", WWW 21/1/20.

Mr Schiff claimed that it would be unprecedented to hold a Senate trial without witnesses. He had previously denied all Republican requests for new witnesses in the House Intelligence Committee, which he chairs, but this is different, see, because this is the Senate and, errr, we haven't had a chance to bring forward all the important new evidence which we suddenly manufactured... errr, discovered.

In the marathon question-and-answer sessions which are expected to wrap up today, the Democrats repeatedly stressed the need to call former National Security Adviser John Bolton. But Republicans noted that Mr Schiff did not want to have the so-called "whistleblower" (Eric Ciaramella?) testify, and had hidden a key transcript that could reveal details about how the complaint against the president had been launched.

When asked why the Senate should call more witnesses and documents if the House Intelligence Committee would not release the testimony of the Intelligence Community Inspector General, Mr Schiff dodged the query, saying that whatever deficiencies the House may or may not have brought to the Senate were not "sufficient to relieve the Senate of the obligation to have a trial." Mr Schiff reported channelled Vince offer, exclaiming "But wait! There's more!"

During a break in the Q&A, Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) was asked if the Dumbocrats' fight for witnesses was lost. "I don't know that for sure one way or the other," he said, but called the tone and questions of senators "not encouraging." The Schiff show continues. Stay tuned...

UPDATED: Thoughts on the death of Kobe Bryant

So, farewell then, Kobe Bryant. News of your death in a helicopter crash has pushed the Wuhan corona virus down to second place in both the USA and China. Jack Nicholson thought you were great, but you were really the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). You once scored 81 points in a game against the Toronto Raptors. And you inspired P.K. Subban to be the "transcendant defenceman" that Dave Stubbs thinks he is. [Isn't that another sport? Ed.]

Between now and Groundhog Day, Walt expects to hear "Amazing Grace" sung (badly) many many times. But you won't hear it. Rest in peace.

UPDATE ADDED 28/1/20. The Washington Post has suspended typist Felicia Sonmez for tweeting the link to "Kobe Bryant opens up about how rape charges changed him", originally posted on the NBC Sports website, 16/7/12. De mortuis nil nisi bonum, eh, WaPo?

The good old days - a short rant

We turn our attention, today, from impeachment trials, Harry and Floozie, and other matters of great import, to small everyday concerns, like carrying your groceries home from the store.

Back in the good old days, before the world was covered in plastic, the grocery store (later, supermarket) packed your groceries in sundries in paper bags, like those worn here by Mr and Mrs Walt. Yes, they packed the bags for you. And they were free, even when the heavy stuff needed to be double-bagged. The store would carry them to your car too! And the bags were useful for other things, like putting your garbage in, or hiding your face if you were a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. All for free.

Then came plastic bags. Merchants liked them because they were cheaper, lighter, and easier to handle. Shoppers liked them because they had handles, and were less likely to tear under the weight of groceries or wet garbage. They were more reusable (as kitchen catchers, for instance) than the paper bags. And they were free too, in the good, not-so-old days.

A couple of years ago, however, the stores, under pressure from the eco-weenies and climate alarmists, started to charge for the plastic carrier bags. Instead, they wanted us to use bigger, heavier, reusable shopping bags aka tote bags, available for purchase for a mere 99 cents. This was ostensibly to protect the environment by reducing the incredible amount of plastic littering the countryside and going into landfills or (worse) the sea. Fair enough. We (Mrs Walt and YVT) use the nickel bags [referring only to the carrier bags! Ed.], most of the time, and don't object to paying 5 cents when we forget to take the tote bags to the store.

But the climate activists remain unsatisfied. They have now succeeded in pressuring at least one major supermarket chain to discontinue selling plastic bags. Instead, if you fail to bring your own bag, you will have to pay ten (10) cents (plus tax!) for a paper bag! And not the good ones, with handles, but the plain, old-fashioned paper bags shown in the picture.

Why have the supermarkets been so quick to co-operate in the scheme to shut down Big Oil? (You knew, eh, that the plastic bags are made from oil.) For the answer, follow the money! I've done some pricing, and find that the cost to the supermarkets for one paper bag is about 2 or 3 cents, depending on whether they want them to carry advertising or not. So that's a profit to the merchants of, say, 7 cents per paper bag, compared with a lousy 3 or 4 cents on a plastic bag. Geddit?

And never mind that paper bags are made from, errr, paper, which comes from trees. Paper manufacturers are doubtless happy to see the prospect of increased sales, after a steady decline in consumption of low-end paper products, such as newsprint and, yes, paper bags. Good news for all concerned, except of course for us consumers, who are being nickel and dimed to death, one bag at a time.

A trenchant comment on the "gun problem"

No comment needed. Thanks to Agent 35 for sending this.

“Death, Judgment, Hell and Heaven” - Lenten Mission - Fr Isaac Relyea Saint Catharines, Ontario - 20-23 February

February 26th is Ash Wednesday. What better way to get ready for this season of reflection and repentance than by hearing a soul-stirring Catholic mission -- "Death, Judgment, Hell and Heaven" -- preached by Father Isaac Mary Relyea. This series of four powerful talks will be given at Holy Face of Jesus Church (SSPX) in Saint Catharines ON, from February 20th to 23rd.

Father Relyea is a traditional Franciscan priest from New York. After a successful secular career, Father entered religious life following a reversion to the Catholic Faith.

He is well known as a powerful speaker, who has travelled internationally since ordination to preach traditional missions and speak at conferences, particularly on the Four Last Things. Father has not given this Mission since 2013. It's definitely one you don't want to miss!

"Death, Judgment, Hell and Heaven" is a stirring wake-up call to modern society, which has desensitized itself to the realities of sin, death, man's immortal soul, and the life hereafter! Father Relyea follows the wisdom of saints such as St. Alphonsus de Liguori and St. Leonard of Port Maurice. Attending this Mission has helped many people. It has brought about conversions, changed life-styles, increased fervor, and helped people commit themselves to living a life centered on Christ.

Holy Face of Jesus Church
181 Lake Street
St. Catharines, Ontario
120 km from Toronto and
45 miles from Buffalo.

Thursday, February 20th - Rosary 7:00 pm, Conference 7:30 pm
Friday, February 21st - Rosary 7:00 pm, Conference 7:30 pm
Saturday, February 22nd - Rosary 10:30 am, Conference 11:00 am
Sunday, February 23rd - Rosary 12:30 pm, Conference 1:00 pm

"Death, Judgment, Hell and Heaven" is sponsored in part and promoted by the Fatima Center, founded by Father Nicholas Gruner+. For more information, including information on accommodations at special rates, visit the Fatima.org website.

Astounding! CNN writer accuses Adam Schiff of abetting Putin

Ed. here. Incredible as it may seem, the Clinton News Network has published an op-ed piece by Scott Jennings in which the writer veers from the party line that the Dumbocrats are protecting democracy, and indeed the Republic, from the evil machinations of Still-President Trump. We trust CNN won't mind us reposting here a slightly truncated (but not edited) verion of

Adam Schiff is the one helping Vladimir Putin

destabilize US democracy

On the floor of the US Senate, in full view of the American people, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff finished what Russian President Vladimir Putin started.

"The President's misconduct cannot be decided at the ballot box, for we cannot be assured that the vote will be fairly won," Schiff thundered this week, arguing for President Donald Trump's removal.

That comment stopped me in my tracks (and rankled many in the Senate GOP conference) because the conclusion of the US intelligence community was that Russia's interference in the 2016 election was designed "to undermine public faith in the US democratic process," an assessment backed up by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

What could possibly be more fulfilling of Putin's desire to sow discord and mistrust than for a senior member of Congress to stand in the well of the Senate and declare the 2020 election is already illegitimate before a single ballot has been cast?

Putin himself couldn't have scripted a better finale for his operation.

There is something revealing -- and chilling -- in Schiff's views on Trump's retrospective and prospective illegitimacy vis-à-vis the Republicans he routinely pillories for supporting the President. Schiff argues that Trump undermines our political institutions, but what could be more undermining to the Office of the Presidency than for his opposition to seemingly never accept the legitimacy of the person who occupies it?

Despite Schiff's promises, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report flatly stated that the investigation "did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities." But that has never stopped Schiff from indulging the Democratic myth that the 2016 election was stolen by the Trump campaign conspiring with a foreign government.

A majority of Republicans did not support Trump in the 2016 primary. In fact, GOP leaders raged and schemed to resist him until the end, but Trump overcame the establishment to win the nomination. Respecting the will of the voters, Republicans, unlike Democrats, ultimately accepted Trump's nomination and then his ascension to the White House.

To them, Trump won fair and square. They may not have liked it, but the system produced a result, and they respected it.

Schiff's reckless statements in the runup to the Mueller report and now this week's impeachment arguments were a continuation of the Democratic emotion to never concede the 2016 election -- and to never acknowledge the legitimacy of a man they detest. Schiff is, in effect, arguing that America's political institutions have already failed and will fail again unless a singular individual is no longer allowed to exist in the system.

As Republican Sen. Josh Hawley told Tucker Carlson, if Schiff's argument is that Trump's 2016 election isn't valid -- and 2020 is likely to be no different -- "and therefore you have to protect democracy by overturning elections... it's no wonder that they [Schiff and fellow Democrats] don't actually want to have this trial."

Schiff exudes the faithlessness of Democrats who are sure that the basic pillars of American democracy, which have stood like immovable rocks in a stormy world for nearly 250 years, crumbled on the night that Trump was elected and cannot be rebuilt unless he is banished from the public square.

One man, they seem to say, is enough to destroy all of the faith in democracy that sprang from the genius of James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams.

Schiff's passionate floor speeches essentially suggest that Democrats don't want to toss Trump over the Ukrainian matter, but rather over the larger question of his whether he was or could ever be legitimately elected.

If Schiff is right, and this Democrat-only impeachment is overwhelming and righteous, shouldn't he be supremely confident that Trump will lose in a landslide, no matter what levers the President pulls?

Americans are being told by a major political party that, effectively, our democracy no longer works. We are on the cusp of an election in which most experts agree that voter turnout will reach historic levels, and yet Democrats would have us believe that, because Trump is a candidate in that election, we may as well cancel it.

"Can you have the least bit of confidence he'll stand up and protect our national interest over his own? You know you can't, which makes him dangerous to this country," Schiff argued.

But what's more dangerous? Predicting what Trump may or may not do, or fulfilling Putin's wish to project a belief that American democracy failed four years ago and is guaranteed to fail again? Putin won't need a pittance of Facebook ads this time around; he's got Schiff.

Further reading: "Democrats Warn That American People May Tamper With Next Election", Babylon Bee, 23/1/20. Those not familiar with the Bee should take note that the publishers say that they are posting "fake news that you can trust". The photo above was scraped from the Bee article.

Happy Chinese New Year of the Rat! 恭喜发财！

Walt and Poor Len [and Ed.] wish

all our Chinese readers

Special shoutout to all those fighting for

democracy in Hong Kong!

向所有为香港争取民主的人们大声疾呼!

UPDATED: VIDEO: Saint Greta visits an Aussi pub

Walt welcomes a new agent, assigned No. 35, and thanks her for alerting us to the existence of this short (2:08) video of the Chief Climate Alarmist, Greta Thunberg, addressing the crowd (Barry Mackenzie?) at the Armatree Hotel in Armatree (duh), New South Wales, Australia. Warning: Saint Greta may not have actually been speaking at the time and place suggested!



More recently, the precocious teen has been in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual gabfest of the big swinging dicks in finance and economics. She has been repeating the same old rant about how they (the dicks) are not doing enough to save the world from destruction. (Michael Moore said this week we've only got four years left!) In response, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin suggested that Ms Thunberg isn't the best person to give advice on economic issues related to climate change -- at least not until she goes to college.

At a presser at the World Economic Forum, Mr Mnuchin criticized the latter-day Henny Penny for calling on all and sundry to divest immediately from fossil fuels. Asked how such restrictions would affect the American economic model, Mr Mnuchin responded, "Is she the chief economist or who is she? I’m confused.... After she goes and studies economics in college she can come back and explain that to us."

UPDATE ADDED 24/1/20: The Rebel has just released "Greta Thunberg Incorporated: The Exposé". Click here to see it. Among other things, you'll see the school Greta is supposed "on strike" from -- a school for children with special needs.

VIDEO: Brand new tune from Shaye Cohn and Tuba Skinny

Got the mid-winter blahs? Here's some New Orleans jazz that'll get you tapping your toes and feeling GOOD. The Tuba Skinny Jazz Band, praised here before, plays a new composition by Shaye Cohn. Robin introduced it as "The Diamond Dove Song" but James Sterling, who posted it to YouTube says he's not sure if that's the official title or if it's simply "The Diamond Dove".



Recorded at The Starlight Lounge in New Orleans, on 15 January 2020. Mr Sterling says you may need to turn up the volume, as he's experimenting with new recording equipment.

Harry and Floozie take up residence in Canada

Harry Windsor, the celebrity formerly known as Prince, arrived in Canada on Monday to be at the side of Meghan Markle, the biracial actress(ish) and princess wannabe, and their son Archie. Here's a cartoon comment, scraped from Blazing Cat Fur.

The paparazzi are out in full force, camped outside the cast-iron gates (papered over from the inside with white cardboard) of the not-so-royal couple's rented mansion just outside Victoria BC. [They don't really live in a cabin in the pines, as in the cartoon. Only Walt does that! Ed.] One paparazzo snapped a photo of Meghan walking two dogs -- service animals, possibly -- along a nearby trail, being trailed (geddit?) by two plainclothes cops, one British and one a Mountie. Who is paying for the mansion, the cops, etc etc? Don't as Mr Socks. He has said only that he's talking to the Queen about that little problem.

Further reading: "More Than 80,000 Canadians Sign Petition Demanding Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Pay Their Own Way", Blazing Cat Fur, 22/1/20.

Senate refuses Dem motions to delay hearing their "unassailable case"

And so it begins. (Thought I'd get the cliché out of the way early.) The impeachment trial of Still-President Trump got under way in the Senate this afternoon, with Democrat House Managers, led by the inevitable Adam Schiff, accusing Senate Republicans of rigging the trial with proposed rules that would prevent witnesses from testifying and bar evidence gathered by investigators. They were arguing against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's motion proposing rules that would execute a quick trial, without new testimony or evidence.

What's wrong with that, I hear you ask. Well, say the Dumbocrats, we're not ready! We don't have all the evidence yet! (I'll pause while you let that sink in...)

Be it remembered that when Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Schiff urged the House of Representatives to approve their Articles of Impeachment, they crowed that they had "overwhelming evidence" of President Trump's "crimes and misdemeanours" which "imperilled national security", yada yada yada. The House duly passed the resolution.

There followed a rather lengthy pause -- 33 days! -- while Ms Pelosi pondered the wisdom of sending the Articles to the Senate. Doing so, our legal expert tells us, is the equivalent of filing a "certificate of evidence", which is what you do (in some jurisdictions) to tell a court that, all preliminary matters having been completed, you are ready (aye, ready!) to proceed to trial.

Speaking to the meeja earlier today, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said once again that the evidence that President Trump abused the power of his office and obstructed Congress is already "overwhelming". But, he said, the Senate should allow House Democrats to introduce still more evidence. Like what? Well, they're not really sure, so they want to issue subpoenas to White House staffers (Hello, Mick Mulvaney!), State Department officials, and just about everyone except the Bidens, on the off chance that someone might say something new that would buttress their "unassailable case" for impeachment.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has now introduced a number (I lost count of how many) of amendments to Senator McConnell's motion, all of which have been defeated on motion to table by votes of 53 to 47, strictly on party lines with nobody on either side of the aisle breaking ranks.

According to Fox News, Dana Perino, host of "The Daily Briefing" and co-host of "The Five", said Senator Schumer "risks losing the public's -- and the Senate's -- attention if he continues to offer these amendments." She speaks right, friends. Walt is not staying tuned.

Further reading: "Time was elections decided things. Apparently Trump's foes think they know better", by Rex Murphy, in the National Post, 21/1/19.

Footnote: Has anyone noticed that Jay Sekulow, one of the lawyers representing President Trump personally (seen here debunking the Dumbocrats' hoax of the day) bears an uncanny resemblance to the late Harold Ramis, of Ghostbusters and SCTV fame?

VIDEO: Michael Matt joins the "Catholic clans" in Munich

What in the world is going on in the Roman Catholic Church? There are powerful enemies of the True Faith, in the highest echelons of the Church, who are doing their utmost to lead Christians away from the traditional Church into the Pope Bergoglio's "church of accompaniment", which is, in effect, anti-Christian.

One of the hottest hotbeds of heresy is Germany, where neo-Catholic bishops led by Cardinal Reinhard Marx (no relation?) are attempting to impose the errors of the Amazon Synod throughout the whole Church. In Munich, a stone's throw [You're not suggesting anything here, are you? Ed.] from the prelate's palace, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò made a surprise appearance to stand with traditional Catholic resistance to the German bishops.

This gathering -- Acies Ordinata -- was by personal invitation to journalists and representatives of Catholic action groups around the world. If it had been advertised beforehand, there is a very good chance it would have been blocked. As it was, the statement of resistance to the modernistagenda was loud and clear. Michael Matt, editor of The Remnant, reports.

Poor Len: Perhaps I was a bit hasty...

Got a text from a reader 30 seconds after the finish of last night's hockey game between the Montréal Canadians and the Philthydelphia Flyers. "O ye of little faith!", he said. "One bad game and you get off the good ship Habs?!" He was referring to yesterday's post headed "Poor Len Canayen loses hope for hapless Habs". Well, I blame Ed. for that.* If you read my words carefully, you will see that I did not give up hope entirely. I merely said that I wouldn't bet on a "miracle on ice" that would get les Glorieux into the playoffs.

Our reader (J-P Fou, of St-Louis-du-Ha-Ha, QC -- you can look it up) points to last night's satisfying 4-1 win over the team the Habs have to pass to get into the last NHL Eastern Conference wild card spot. And, he says, that makes 3 wins in the last 4 games. Plus a GAA of 0.67 for Carey Price, who turned aside 40 shots and was chosen first star of the game. Touché, J-P!

Add into the mix Montréal native (meaning he was born there, nothing else) Marco Scandella, recently acquired from the Buffalo Sabres, who turned in another strong performance on an improved Habs defence. Even more important, Ilya Kovalchuk, who many naysayers (Hello to the Gazoo's Brendan Kelly) said was past his prime, scored not once but twice, bringing his point total to 7 in 6 games. As P.J. O'Rourke wrote, age and guile beat youth and innocence! Good on yer, Kovy!

More good news. Tomas Tatar had a goal (his 17th) and an assist. He's now the Habs' leading goal-scorer. Whoda thunk it? Jesperi Kotkaniemi instigated a fight which he won on points. Again, whoda thunk it? Joel Armia returned from injury and played well. Arturi Lehkonen continued his much-improved play, scoring his 11th goal this year. The Canadiens got a power-play goal and allowed no goals while short-handed.

All in all, it was a fine performance, and, while the Habs are still 7 points out of a wild card spot, hope springs eternal, right here in my bleu-blanc-et-rouge heart!

* Note from Ed. Perhaps I made a mistake when I translated Len's scribbles from the original joual. Sorry.

Harry and Meghan moving to Canada?

Last week, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex -- hereafter to be known simply as Harry Winsor and Meghan Markle -- sparked a crisis in the British monarchy by announcing they wanted to reduce their royal duties and spend more time in North America, while also becoming financially independent. Since Her Royal Hotness is not prepared to move back to the USA as long as Donald J. Trump is still President (which he is and will be for another five years!), they are looking at settling in The Great No-longer-white North, where Ms Markle, being biracial, will fit right in. They are pictured here about to enter Canada via the notorious hole in the World's Longest Undefended Border (TM) at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Québec.

Since Canucks are notorious cheapskates -- you can get a canoe to tip much easier than a Canadian! -- concerns are already being expressed about who's going to be on the hook for the D-list celebs' expenses, particularly security. Mustn't have another Diana-in-the-tunnel moment in one of Her Majesty's Dominions! Will Harry and Meghan's "employment" cover their living costs? Will Meghan find British Columbia (their intended destination) too cold and wet for her liking? Will she divorce Harry when it turns out he doesn't have the combination to the royal vault? Stay tuned!

Meet Amanda Lynn

According to Wikipedia, Forbes, IMDb and various online resources, famous Instagram Star Amanda Lynn's net worth is $30 Million at the age of 30. She earned the money being a professional Instagram Star. She is from Florida.

Thanks and a tip o' the toque to Agent 34. Looking forward to an eyeball-to-eyeball on the weekend, weather permitting.

Poor Len Canayen loses hope for hapless Habs

Allo sports fans! Poor Len `ere with an update on the falling fortunes of Canada's Team (TM).

It has been a tough six weeks for fans of the Montréal Canadiens. Le Tricolore came home flushed with success after a great road trip through western Canada, winning three and losing just one. Then came the Christmas break and the dreaded annual excursion to Florida (Canada's 11th province).

I say "dreaded" because the team seems to think it's a vacation, and don't exert themselves sufficiently, leaving the puck to find its own way into opponents' nets. Doesn't work. On 28 December, the Habs lost to Tampa Bay, beginning an 8-game losing streak, in which they collected just one (1) of a possible 16 points (an overtime loss to Pittsburgh). With that, they fell out of playoff contention, and left fans muttering darkly about which heads should roll.

Hopes were revived this past weekend when Les Glorieux squeaked out a 2-1 OT win over the Ottawa Senators. Carey Price was in form and was awarded the third star. Ageing superstar Ilya Kovalchuk, the team's latest acquisition (and last hope) scored the OT winner and got the first star. He has earned a place on the top line and in fans' sometimes-fickle affections.

Monday night's win over a stronger team, the Calgary Flames, was even better! Price starred in a 2-0 shutout, his 46th in a Habs uniform, typing him with Ken Dryden for third place in the list of Habs goalies with the most shutouts. (Jacques Plante is No. 2 and the all-time shutoutingest goalie is... wait for it... George Hainsworth.) The team in front of Price played well and was full value for the win.

Then came last night, a home game against the Chicago Blackhawks, which the bookies favoured the Canadiens to win. It was not to be. "Jumpy Charlie" Lindgren played goal, since Price will be needed for tonight's game vs Philthydelphia. Mistaking himself for Price, he played the puck from behind his net to Tomas Tatar, who wasn't expecting it, allowing the opponents a tap-in from about a foot out. Things just got worse after that and the final score was 4-1.

So, what now? Mathematically, Montréal still has a chance of getting into the playoffs, but I'm not betting on it, nor should you. I'm starting to hear talk that, with the playoffs out of reach, GM Marc Bergevin may be prepared to sell some assets as part of his 5-year building plan, now well into its 8th year. Names mentioned include Tatar, Jonathan Drouin and Paul Byron. The last two are on the IR, not expected to return until after the all-star break. IMHO, trading any of those guys would be a mistake. Trading Price or all-star D-man Shea Weber will be impossible because of their hyuge contracts.

If I were GM, I would try to trade a lesser light and maybe a pick or two for a reliable backup goalie. Even that isn't really necessary as Cayden Primeau is developing nicely with Laval and could be tapped for that position next season. And the team has two other rookies -- Cale Fleury and Nick Suzuki -- who are playing well and should be protected and nurtured. That leaves underachievers Jasperi Kotkaniemi and Ryan Poehling, both of whom are disappointingly mediocre, as trade bait, if Bergie feels the need to make a deal to keep his job.

In summary... I'll keep watching the Habs -- how could I not? -- but am not expecting any "miracle on ice". If the team's many injured scorers can return for part of February and March, it's possible la Sainte Flanelle could finish with a respectable record. And then... there's always next year. À la prochaine...

VIDEO: Judge Judy endorses (((Michael Bloomberg)))

Ed. here (again). Since Walt is hors de combat, I've had nothing to do today except watch TV. I was non+ed to see a commercial in which ((("Judge Judy" Sheindlin))) endorses (((Michael Bloomberg))) for the presidensity. The burden of her message seems to be that, if elected, Mr Bloomberg will turn the Excited States of America into the paradise that is New York City. You want that, don'tyew?

Wow... Too much... I need a cup of coffee...



Hm. Maybe I'll ask Walt if he has sold enough books/magazines/etc for us to buy a new machine.

What? You were expecting to see Judge Judy's endorsement? Don't worry. You'll see it a million times between now and the summer, especially if you live in Iowa or New Hampshire.

More great "fake news" from the Babylon Bee

Ed. here. Walt is taking a couple of days off to recover from the intense activity of last week (and clean out his attic, q.v.), so today I'll just post a link to another great piece of satire from the Babylon Bee.

Journalists Caution Against Blaming Empire

For Blowing Up Alderaan

CORUSCANT—Journalists at Coruscant News Network, Mustafar Satellite News Broad Casting, and the Core-planets Broadcasting System have cautioned people against blaming the Empire for blowing up Alderaan.... Click here to continue reading.

Iran admits its rocket shot down PS752... "but Trump!"

Iran's president has finally acknowledged what Walt and almost everyone else have suspected from the getgo. It was indeed an Iranian missile that downed Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 on Wednesday, killing all 176 people (mostly ethnic Persians) on board.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake," Hassan Rouhani said late Friday in a post on Twitter. "My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences." Walt's lifetime pct .984.

Iran announced Saturday that its military "unintentionally" shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it was responsible. The plane was shot down early Wednesday, hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on two military bases housing American troops in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in an American airstrike in Baghdad. No one was wounded in the attack on the bases.

A military statement carried by state media said the plane was mistaken for a "hostile target" after it turned toward a "sensitive military centre" of the Revolutionary Guard. The military was at its "highest level of readiness," it said, amid the heightened tensions with the United States. An Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander said his unit accepts "full responsibility" for what happened. In an address broadcast by state TV on Saturday, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that when he learned about the downing of the plane, "I wished I were dead." Walt thinks that can probably be arranged.

But the responsibility is not that of Gen. Hajizadeh alone, nor even that of the mad mullahs who form the government of the Islamic Republic. The "heightened tensions", we are asked to believe, were caused by the assassination of Gen. Soleimani, the mastermind behind Islamic terrorism that has plagued the Middle East sandpit for years and caused 1000s of deaths to Muslims and infidels alike. And who ordered Soleimani's assassination? Why, Still-President Trump, of course!

"In such a condition, because of human error and in a unintentional way, the flight was hit," the military said. It apologized and said it would upgrade its systems to prevent future tragedies. For its part, the Iranian government, through its foreign minister, expressed "profound regret" for the "incident". So that's all right then.

Credit where credit is due Dept.: Meme scraped from Blazing Cat Fur.

Christians trying to "impose their values" on society, sez Ilhan Omar

LifeNews reports that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has slammed pro-life Christians for "trying to impose their beliefs on society." The ardent follower of the Prophet Mohammed spoke out in May against pro-life legislation on the floor of the House of Representatives, claiming laws that protect the unborn are "horrifying attacks" against women's "reproductive rights." Ms Omar advocates aborting unborn babies and forcing taxpayers to fund abortions, but of course that's different.

A vociferous pro-abortion Democrat, Ms Omar described pro-life Christians as hypocrites who just want to control women, quite unlike her co-religionists who believe women should be completely free to have sex with whomever they choose (even if it's their brothers), dress however they please (as long as they're covered from head to toe) and, of course, kill their babies in the womb (as long as it's OK with the fathers).
"Religious fundamentalists are currently trying to manipulate state laws in order to impose their beliefs on an entire society," Ms Omar shrilled, "all with complete disregard for voices and the rights of American women."

"This isn't about religious morality or conviction," she went on, "because we have seen time and time again those who talk about their faith and want to push policies because of their faith are the ones who simply are caught with the hypocrisy of not living it out in their personal lives." Again, quite unlike Ms Omar who is apparently unconcerned by the Islamic proscription on adultery. See "New Proof That Ilhan Omar Is Having an Affair", The Clarion Project, 23/10/19.

LifeNews makes the point that, though many Christians do advocate for unborn babies because of their beliefs, pro-lifers come from many different faiths (or no faith) and political persuasions. What unites them is not "religious fundamentalism" but scientific evidence and beliefs about basic human rights, above all the right to life.

Not only "bad guys" shoot down commercial airliners

Agent 3 e-mail to chastise me for mentioning in my coda to yesterday's piece on the apparent shooting down of Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 by an Iranian missile, only the downing of Korean Airlines KAL007 by Soviet air forces. Agent 3 reminds me of two even worse "incidents", and possibly a third.

How quickly we forget [YOU forgot! Ed.] the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, which crashed in July of 2017 near the border of Russia and Ukraine. The B777 -- a bigger plane than the B737-800 -- was supposedly flying at 10,000 metres (33,000 feet), at which altitude it could only have been hit by a large and sophisticated surface-to-air missile, probably the same Russian-built Tor-M1 missile system used by the Iranian military. See "Russian Missile System Suspected of Bringing Down Ukraine Airliner: Short Range, Fast and Deadly", Moscow Times, 10/1/20.

Who did that? The government of Vladimir Putin is keeping shtum, but the prime suspects were and remain the Ukrainian rebels, backed by Russia, trying to separate the eastern Ukraine from the motherland. Whoever did the dirty deed must surely have made a horrible mistake, firing on a civilian airliner. Right?

That tragedy was preceded, nine years earlier, by the shooting down of Iran Air flight IR655. On 3 July 1988 the Airbus A300 was en route from Tehran to Dubai when it was hit by an SM-2MR surface-to-air missile fired from... wait for it... USS Vincennes, a guided-missile cruiser of the United States Navy. The aircraft was destroyed and all 290 pax and crew were killed.

The large jet was hit while flying over Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, along the flight's usual route, shortly after departing Bandar Abbas International Airport, the flight's stopover location. The Vincennes had entered Iranian territory after one of its helicopters drew warning fire from Iranian speedboats operating within Iranian territorial limits. According to the American government, the Vincennes crew mistook the Airbus for an F-14 Tomcat, an American-made jet fighter that had been part of the Iranian Air Force inventory since the 1970s. Rather a glaring error.

The US Navy claimed the Vincennes made ten attempts to contact the aircraft on both military and civilian radio frequencies, but received no response. The Iranian government said the cruiser negligently shot down the aircraft, which was transmitting IFF squawks in Mode III, a signal that identified it as a civilian aircraft, and not Mode II as used by Iranian military aircraft.

The event generated a great deal of criticism of the Paranoid States of America, and particularly Vincennes captain William C. Rogers III, for "overly aggressive behaviour in a tense and dangerous environment." Walt expects to hear phrases like that a lot, in the aftermath of this week's tragedy. In the days immediately following the incident, President Ronald Reagan issued a written diplomatic note to the Iranian government, expressing deep regret. Walt expects a similar note to be issued by the mad mullahs of the Iranian government, any minute now.

To round out this list, let's not forget Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, a B777 which vanished into thin air... or deep water... five years ago this coming March, with 239 souls aboard, now presumed dead. The Malaysian government declared the loss an accident, but no-one has yet been able to say for sure what happened to the large airliner. I continue to believe that the plane was shot down by either Indian or (more likely) American forces operating from the US military base on Diego Suarez. That would have been an accident... of course.

PS752: Cue Iran's "sincere apology"

Here's the headline Walt expected: "US officials say 'highly likely' Iranian missile brought down Ukrainian airliner". Lifetime pct .983.

The rest of the story, so far (the news is breaking just now) is that American satellites detected the launch of two missiles shortly before the Ukrainian International Airlines B737-800, operating flight PS752 from Tehran to Kyiv, crashed shortly after takeoff.

Reuters and The Associated Press both report that US officials say they believe the shooting down of the aircraft was "accidental". When Still-President Trump was asked about the crash at a presser a few minutes ago, he told reporters he had a terrible feeling about the downed airliner but offered no additional details. "Somebody could have made a mistake," he told reporters at the White House. "I have my suspicions."

As to the consequences, Walt's prediction is that there will be no retaliation by the USA, Ukraine, or anyone else. The government of Iran will express its "sincere regret" about the "incident", and will pay millions of petrodollars in compensation to the families of those killed. That will suffice for the US government, since doing anything else -- shooting down an Iranian airliner, for instance -- would provoke a war which, in truth, the Americans do not want.

There is a precedent for my prediction -- the case of Korean Airlines flight 007, which was shot down on 1 September 1983 by a Soviet Su-15 interceptor while en route from Anchorage to Seoul. The B747 deviated from its original planned route and flew through Soviet prohibited airspace. The Soviet Air Forces treated the unidentified aircraft as an intruding American spy plane, and destroyed it with air-to-air missiles, not accidentally but deliberately. All 269 passengers and crew aboard were killed.

Ukrainian Airlines tragedy: suspicions of terrorism mount

Sometimes silence speaks louder than words. ["The dog that didn't bark". Ed.] Here is what is known, now, about the last moments of Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752. The B737-800, fully loaded with fuel, lifted off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport at 0612 Wednesday, almost an hour late, for the four-hour flight to Kyiv. No reason for the delayed departure has as yet been given.

Tracking data suggests that the plane had reached a speed of about 500 km/h and an altitude of just over 2400 metres, when, about four minutes after takeoff, it suddenly plunged to earth, crashing near a soccer field and irrigation canal outside the town of Parand, 30 km northwest of the airport.

There was no distress call or other communication from the cockpit in the moments before the crash. The aircraft just disappeared from the radar == there one moment, gone the next.

Our aviation expert (Agent 17) says the sudden disappearance from the radar, combined with radio silence, indicates a sudden catastrophic event. If the plane had lost an engine or had other mechanical/technical trouble, there should have been time for the pilots to alert air traffic control and, perhaps, declare an emergency. But nothing was heard. Just silence.

The timing of the tragedy -- just four hours after the Iranians launched a barrage of missiles at two bases housing American and other international military personnel in Iraq, an initial reprisal for the Americans' January 3rd killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani -- raises suspicion that the plane may have been sabotaged or shot down... accidentally or on purpose. Stay tuned.

VIDEO: Wally award for best TV commercial of 2019

Hey kids, it's time for our (more or less) annual presentation of the coveted Wally award for best TV commercial of the year. May I have the envelope, please... Cue drum roll (as in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation)... And the winnter is... "SKIP Tour de force". Credits below.



Agence : Arrivals + Departure et TMO - Directeur artistique : David Lamarche
Conception-rédaction : Kristina Landry - Producteur d'agence : Annick d’Auteuil
Maison de production : Cinélande
Producteur : Jérôme Couture - Réalisateur : Jean-François Asselin

There's a lot of great stuff coming out of Québec, not just French versions of English commercials, but original stuff. Congratulations to all involved!

UPDATED: Crash of Ukrainian airliner work of Iran/Islamic terrorists?

New just breaking... Ukraianian International Airlines flight PS752 crashed just after takeoff from Tehran's international airport this morning, killing all 176 passengers and crew. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Vadym Prystaiko said 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians were on board. The Ukrainian nationals included two passengers and the nine crew. There were also ten Swedish, four Afghan, three German and three British nationals, he said.

Some reports say the aircraft -- a Boeing 737-800 (not the same type as the Max8) -- was on fire when it crashed. That could indicate a mid-air explosion. May Walt be forgiven for wondering if this tragedy is in any way connected with the retaliation promised by the Iranian government for the killing of Gen. Qassem Suleimani by a US drone strike, late last week. Stay tuned.

UPDATE ADDED at 1230: Latest reports are that the Iranian government will not hand over the "black boxes" (=flight data recorders) from the crashed plane to either Boeing or America. Iran's semi-official news agency quoted the head of Iran's civil aviation organization as saying it was not clear which country Iran would send the black boxes to for analysis, but it would not give them to Boeing, which is based in the United States, a country with which Iran has no diplomatic relations. What does that tell you?

Belated New Year's greeting from one of Walt's agents

Agent 34, who has been out of touch for some time, let us know that he is still "out there", by sending along this lovely (and respectful!) New Year's greeting from the late great Hunter S. Thompson, Doctor of Journalism.

NATO troops start pulling out of Iraq; Americans just "moving"

There are further developments in the drama of Western meddling in the Middle East. As reported here, the Iraqi parliament voted on Sunday to oust US forces from their shithole country. The resolution said "all foreign forces", which means they would like NATO forces to follow the Americans towards the "EXIT" sign, and not slam the door on the way out. Yesterday they were signs that a number of America's "allies" [Fair weather friends? Ed.] may actually be ahead of the US military in getting out of Dodge.

Canada's chief of the defence staff, Gen. Jonathan Vance, announced that Canuckistan's military is temporarily "relocating" some soldiers from Iraq to Kuwait. The move, posted to Twitter this morning, follows the lead of Germany and several other allies. Western troops in Iraq have been on high alert since the weekend killing, by an American drone, of Iranian Gen. Qassem Suleimani, the mastermind behind Islamic terrorist activities in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and the rest of the sandpit.

Following Gen. Vance's announcement, Harjit Singh Sajjan, Canada's defence minister and self-proclaimed hero of Aghanistan, insisted that the "relocation" of Canuck forces was just a minor matter, and that the NATO military mission in the Middle East would stay the course. Any confusion about this, he said, was triggered by a leaked letter which suggested Washington was prepared to withdraw its troops from Iraq. Media reports about the letter from a senior USMC brigadier general said the pullout would happen over the next few days "in deference to the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq", in response to the resolution of the Iraqi parliament mentioned above

But, according to Reuters, US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, later told a group of reporters that the letter was only a draft, meant only to inform the Iraqi government of "increased US troop movement". Nothing more. No withdrawal is being planned. Said the general, "Poorly worded, implies withdrawal. That's not what's happening." Yeah. Right.

The leaked letter said the repositioning was taking place "to prepare for onward movement" but did not specify where that movement might take place, whether west toward the "EXIT" door {read: Kuwait, where the USA has been furiously enlarging its bases) or eastward, towards, errr, Afghanistan, or northward, towards... wait for it... Iran.

American Secretary of Defense Mark Esper also insisted the US has no plans to pull out of Iraq. "There's been no decision whatsoever to leave Iraq," Mr Esper told Pentagon reporters on Monday, adding there also have been no plans issued to prepare to leave. Stay tuned.

Further reading: "Matt Gaetz: Trump Doctrine 'Best' When U.S. Strikes Terrorists, Bring Troops Home", Breitbart News, 7/1/20. Lede: "Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) told Breitbart News in an exclusive comment Tuesday that the Donald Trump foreign policy doctrine works best when 'we strike the terrorists' and then 'bring the troops home.'" Sounds like Mr Gaetz has been reading WWW.

VIDEO GREETING: Різдвом Христовим!

Walt, Poor Len [and Ed.!] wish all our Ukrainian and Russian readers

Христос Рождається!

Веселого Різдва!

"Carol of the Bells" (also known as the "Ukrainian Bell Carol") is a choral miniature work originally composed by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych. Throughout the composition, Leontovych used a four note motif as an ostinato which was taken from an ancient pagan Ukrainian New Year's chant known in Ukrainian as "Shchedryk" -- the Generous One.

Велика Коляда 2010 у Львові. Вокальна група "Чорнобривці".
Львівського мистецького центру "Веселі Черевички".
Керівники: Володимир і Марія Чмир. Хормейстер Василь Чучман

Iraqi parliament wants US troops out of their country

Regular readers will know that, along with such right-thinking patriots as Dr Ron Paul, I am absolutely opposed to American involvement the Muslim civil wars in the Middle East.

It's not that I'm a pacifist or peacenik. I do believe in the doctrine of the "just war". It's just that I think it's foolish to waste 1000s of lives and billions of dollars on a war we can't win, in an affair which is none of our business.

So I was heartened to hear yesterday that the Iraqi parliament voted in favour of a resolution asking the government to expel US troops from their shithole country. Mostly Shiite factions voted in favour, while Kurdish and most Sunni members of parliament did not attend the session, presumably because they want the American presence in Iraq to continue.

The resolution says, "The government commits to revoke its request for assistance from the international coalition fighting 'Islamic State' due to the end of military operations in Iraq and the achievement of victory. The Iraqi government must work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace or water for any reason."

Like so many resolutions passed by so many politicians in so many talking shops around the world, this resolution is likely to come to nothing. It still needs to be approved by the Iraqi cabinet, which, under their system, is not responsible to parliament. However, interim Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi voiced support as he railed against US "violations of Iraqi sovereignty."

He was referring to the US air strike on Friday which killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force, near Baghdad's airport. The force has been declared an Islamic terrorist organization, and the killing of its commander -- a man with the blood of 1000s on his hands -- was intended to prevent the execution of a major terrorist attack against Americans in the Middle East, while at the same time dealing a blow to the heart of Iran's Middle East policy.

About 5,200 US troops are deployed at Iraqi military bases -- built at considerable expense to American taxpayers -- to train and support local security forces, in hopes -- faint hopes -- of preventing a resurgence of ISIS. The troops are there at the invitation of the Iraqi government as part of an US-led international coalition against the Islamic extremist group.

The usual suspects (read: Democrats) filled the airwaves yesterday with complaints about the air strike, and dire warnings about immanentizing the eschaton. (You can look it up.) At the very least, they say, Still-President Trump's action has facilitated conditions for Iran to achieve one of its main regional objectives: removing the US military from its neighbour.

And I say: GREAT! What I see here is a brilliant plan to, at long last, get America out of Iraq and perhaps the entire sandpit, without spending at little cost in lives or money, and without losing face!
Previous administrations, both Republican and Democrat, got the USA into the Middle East quagmire (giggity!), without any realistic chance of victory, or any exit plan. The Prez promised to clean up the mess left by Bush, but just spread it further, into Libya.

President Trump said he'd find a way, and was attacked for preparing to bail out, abandoning the "good" Muslims, yada yada yada. What better way to end this colossal exercise in futility than to have the people that invited America to go in to "help" them, order the US to leave. Walt says, DO IT! NOW! Leave the Sunnis and the Shiites and ISIS and Al-Qaeda and the Taliban to fight it out. And may all the jihadis get what they so richly deserve. Selah!

Canuck Cuckservatives to hold leadership vote June 27th

The self-styled Conservative Party of Canada -- in reality only a tad to the left of centre, compared with the Liberals -- managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory [No more clichés please! Ed.] in October's general election.

Instead of stopping to think why their "Liberal lite" policies failed to stir the imagination of jaded frostbacks, party backroomers quickly plunged their knives into the back of leader Andrew Scheer -- the Mr Rogers of Canadian politics, a man with all the charisma of a bed of kelp.

Political has-been Peter MacKay waited less than a week before publicly liken Mr Scheer's performance to "having an empty net to shoot at, and missing!" (Canadians will understand that, or so Poor Len Canayen tells us.) Other verbal daggers were stuck into Mr Scheer until he was "done like dinner" (ditto), and he duly fell on his sword at the beginning of December.

Now the Tories will have to pick a new leader. Mr MacKay is said to be thinking about having another go. So is former leader Jean Charest, who has won and lost elections as both a Conservative and a Liberal. Maxime Bernier, who was screwed over by anti-French Tories and angry dairy farmers in the last Conservative convention, is not expected to be invited to throw his chapeau in the ring.

On January 3rd, the Tories announced that a leadership convention will be held in Toronto on June 27th, following which everyeone will go to the cottage for the summer. Former Harper cabinet minister Lisa Raitt, defeated in the October election and then made party chairthingy, told the meeja, "The committee is meeting frequently to make sure we do this in the most open, efficient and transparent way to make sure we get a good result this time." `nuff said.

"Allahu akbar!" in Paris... again...

The policewoman thoughtfully picking her nose [Just scratching, maybe? Ed.] is on the scene of what French prosecutors now call a "terror-related" knife attack yesterday, in the Paris suburb of Villejuif. (Translates as "Jewville" or "Jewtown".) The assailant killed one man and seriously wounded two other people in Hautes-Bruyères park before being shot by the flics.

At first the authorities tried the same spin that was used so effectively in the Toronto Danforth "incident" over a year ago, claiming that the attacker, whom they would not identify, was mentally deranged, and that his motive was unknown. Today, however, Inspector Clouseau said investigations over the past few hours revealed that the assailant had been "radicalized" and had prepared the attack as part of a "terrorist undertaking".

Notice that they refused to utter such words as "Muslim" or "Islamic". They didn't have to. The jig was up, so to speak, when local prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the 22-year-old man shouted "Allahu akbar!" -- "God is great!" in Arabic -- not once but several times during the attack.

In a completely unrelated story, official statistics released this week showed that Seine-Saint-Denis, to the north of Paris, is the third biggest département (a regional administrative division) of France, by population. It is also the poorest. And the site of one of the worst ghettos anywhere in the country.

Historically, Seine-Saint-Denis was not always so poor, and its largest city, Saint-Denis, used to be the place where Kings were crowned. That was a long time ago. Since then, it has been hit by mass immigration, economic crisis and a succession of Communist local governments. The flood of immigrants, mostly from the Muslim countries of north and central Africa, led to the building of "cités" -- cheap and large building complexes meant to house poor workers, and, later, severely impoverished populations outside of Paris. Cultural integration issues and economic crisis brought more poverty, and with it crime.

Police and firemen don't enter these cités any more, because it's too dangerous for them. Gangsters operate drug traffic there, using young men as their eyes and ears, sellers and henchmen. Those guys are uneducated, violent and will throw rocks or other projectiles at police and fire dpt vehicles if they breach territory. Media types with pale complexions enter the cités only to report the nasty news: rival gangs fighting, the occasional shooting, gang rape, and, of course, acts of Islamic terrorism.

Did CNN really spin the Texas church shooting this way?

This is a follow-up to "Media don't know how to spin White Settlement church shooter story", WWW 30/12/19. As I predicted, the story was buried by the lamestream media even before the corpses were cold. But two days ago the Babylon Bee ran this photo

along with a brief report datelined "Atlanta".

The trouble with the Bee (which I read regularly and commend to you) is that you can never be sure what's true and what's satire. Beneath the article is this disclaimer: "A Babylon Bee subscriber contributed to this report." So maybe it's fiction? But I don't watch the Clinton News Network because of its obvious leftie bias, so can't say that the story is not true. I wouldn't be surprised if it is true. Would you?

Canada finds 400 "asylum-seekers" ineligible... out of over 12,000

Believe It Or Not Dept: The Toronto [Red] Star, not owned but still controlled by Canada's Liberal government, reported this week that "New asylum laws to restrict flow of migrants from US yield few results". Believe it or not!

In June of 2019, with a federal election looming and anti-immigrant (and especially anti-"refugee") backlash mounting, the alleged government of Just In Trudeau put into effect measures (buried in April's "omnibus budget") which were supposed to prevent refugees from seeking protection in Canada if they have made similar claims in other countries. That was supposed to discourage Nigerians, Haitians and other bogus refugees from jumping across the World's Longest Undefended Border (TM) at such notorious crossing points as Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle QC.

The Honourable Bill Blair, "Minister of Border Security" and former chief of the Toronto Police "Service" told the meeja, when the changes were introduced, "We've been working very hard over the past several months to significantly reduce the number of people who are crossing our borders irregularly." That was, of course, a steaming load of horseshit, since the Liberals depend on 1000s of "instant Canadians" to vote for them in places like Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver.

The government's own figures, revealed now in the Star's exclusive, put the lie to Mr Blair's statement. Since Still-President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, more than 50,000 "irregular migrants" (government-speak for "illegal border jumpers") crossed the land border at places like Lacolle and Emerson MB, claiming asylum in Canada. As of September 2019, there were still 29,000 claims to be heard and determined.

Statistics from the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship [sic] show that some 12,000 asylum claims were made from January to September of this year alone. The number of claimants deemed ineligible since 21 June 2019, when the "new" rules took effect, is... wait for it... 400. That's right -- four hundred out of 12,000.

The Star says the Ministry for Refugees did not track asylum-seekers who had made claims in other countries, so the new policy did not set a target. However, 400 is a much lower number than that anticipated by "migrant rights" groups who were critical of the policy change. "We were surprised to see the low number," said Janet Dench (no relation to Judy), of the Canadian Council for Refugees. "It is not clear how [the policy] helps by denying refugees access to the Immigration and Refugee Board. From our perspective, this is for the government to send the message that you are not welcomed here and we don't want you here."

Well yes, that's the message the Canadian people want to see given out, and that's what the Liberals are pretending to be saying. But, as with almost everything M Trudeau and company say, the truth is something quite different.

VIDEO: Not a happy new year for le Canadien... but wait!!!

Last time we heard from Poor Len Canayen, he was mildly optimistic about the Montreal Canadiens' chances of making the NHL playoffs this spring. Now... not so much. Over to you, Len.

Tank youse, Walt. Last night les Glorieux played the 41st game of the 82-game schedule. The conventional wisdom is that if you're not in a playoff position at the half-way point of the season, you're not going to make it. As things stand, after their 2-1 loss (4th in a row) to Tampa Bay last night, the Canadiens have fallen to 6th place in the Atlantic division. And the Metropolitan division is so strong this year that only the top three Atlantic teams look playoff-bound, with the two wild card spots going to Metropolitan teams (Carolina and Philthydelphia). The Habs' playoff outlook is pretty dismal.

The main problem, as I see it, is lack of depth. Injuries are killing the Canadiens. [Kind of awkward phrasing. Must be Len's lack of familiarity with English. Ed.] Yesterday morning, coach Claude Julien announced that Brendan Gallagher has been placed on the injured-reserve list with a concussion, suffered the injury during a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on New Year's Eve in Carolina after being checked by Jordan Staal and then getting accidentally kneed in the head by teammate Ben Chiarot while falling to the ice. Here's the video. Warning: content may be disturbing! [That's to make sure you watch it! Ed.]



Gallagher joins teammates Joel Armia (hand), Paul Byron (knee), Jonathan Drouin (wrist) and Matthew Peca (knee) on the injured-reserve list. Peca is one of those in-betweeners, better than average in the AHL, but not cutting the mustard with the big team. But Drouin, Armia and Byron are all top forwards, and when you are missing four (counting Gallagher), you're going to have trouble putting the puck in your opponents' net. And that was exactly the problem last night and in the New Year's Eve loss to Carolina. You won't win many games scoring only one goal.

The good news -- such as it is -- is that the Habs' defence has improved, although there's still a lack of communications, at times, between the defence pairs and the goalie. And the "third defenceman", goalie Carey Price, has been inconsistent. TBL's winning goal, last night, resulted from Price leaving the puck right on his doorstep, thinking that Victor Mete would pick it up... which he (Mete) didn't.

The defence should be improved as of tomorrow night, when Marco Scandella joins the team, having been acquired by GM Marc Bergevin in a deal with Buffalo yesterday. Scandella will probably take the place of Brett Kulak, who has been less than reliable this year, and will now get on the bus for Laval.

If the Habs are to have any hope of making the playoffs, Bergevin is going to have to buy or rent a couple of seasoned players. Drouin and Byron aren't expected back until the end of January, and there's no help coming from Laval. Three or four of the sputtering Rocket have been called up and have done nothing much. I won't name and shame them, but the initials of one are Charles Hudon.

The good news is that some of the younger players on the forward lines are playing well. Max Domi scored in six consecutive games, before last night. Ryan Poehling shows signs of adjusting to his quick move from college hockey to the NHL.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who himself was concussed until recently, is improving, although not to the point of being the marquee player fans are hoping for. The coming superstar is more likely to be Nick Suzuki, acquired as a bonus in the trade that sent Max Pacioretty to Vegas. In the last four games, he has been the best player on the ice, on either team, several times -- truly a delight to watch.

So... we're only half-way through the season. It's easy enough to see the glass as half-empty, but if you look not at the scores but at the way the Habs have been playing, it might just be half full. The fat lady hasn't sung yet!

UPDATE ADDED at 1130: Cazart! Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin just announced that they have signed Russian star [has-been? Ed.] Ilya Kovalchuk to a one-year, two-way contract which will pay the right-winter $700,000 if he plays with the Habs, 1/10th of that if he winds up in Laval.

Kovalchuk, 36, used to be the terror of NHL goalies, but parted company with the Los Angeles Kings in November after failing to perform miracles. Whether he can do so for the Habs is an open question, but at that price, it's worth a try. And don't forget that la Sainte Flanelle had another Great Russian, not so long ago, whose name began with "Kov"! Wonder if No. 27 is available?

VIDEO: The hymn Walt hopes never to hear again (after this)

"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn, written in 1772 by John Newton, an English poet and Anglican clergyman. The words come from Rev. Newton's personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by others' reactions to what they took as his recalcitrant insubordination.

He was pressed (conscripted) into service in the Royal Navy. After leaving the service, he became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland, so severely that he called out to God for mercy. This moment marked his spiritual conversion but he continued slave trading until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether and began studying Christian theology.

Thanks to Agent 6 for sending us the link to this beautiful rendition by Monica Narranda, at a concert at Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Cathedral. Ms Narranda is accompanied by the Barcelona Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Catalan Xuntanza Harmonica Band and the Puig-Reig Polyphony.



Now I need to explain the headline. There are three good (IMHO) reasons why I change channels or hit the "mute" button every time I hear the first notes of "Amazing Grace" on TV.

Although it's in the modern Catholic hymnals, "Amazing Grace" isn't sung in the SSPX chapel I go to, because it's not really Catholic, and that's my first reason. The theology is wrong. It was Martin Luther who said one could be saved by grace alone. Saint Thomas Aquinas and Catholic theologians down through the centuries say there's more to salvation than that.

My second reason is the inevitable bagpipe accompaniment. The music lends itself to being played as a lament, and the image of the lone bagpiper playing on a windswept hill is burned into our race memory, or so it seems. IMHO bagpipes should be used to play only marches. Period.

The third reason why I abhor "Amazing Grace" is that it's been done to death in recent years. Every time there's a news clip of the funeral or grieving following some kind of killing or disaster, that's the "music" you hear. It seems people know only that one hymn, so that's the default and it's usually played badly and sung worse. (What's with this modern style of singing, where you waiver through four notes for every one that's written? Listening to the modern interpretation of national anthems before sports events is just excrutiating!) So you hear this terrible caterwauling and the images are of fat women hugging each other and rubbing each other's backs. Bah! Please, people, stop abusing this fine hymn. Stop it, I say!